MMR

Futures on Wall Street Relatively Unchanged

Oil prices continue to drop

Deputy Editor
Oct 16, 2024 at 9:10 AM
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Stock futures are indicating another muted open, with futures tied to all three major U.S. benchmarks hovering just above fair-market value. This comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) both slipped from record highs, as investors unpack a healthy serving of corporate earnings reports.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude futures continue their trek lower, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) breeching the $71 level after Israel said it would not attack Iran's oil facilities. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

  • Re-examining how small cap stocks are performing.
  • Bank stock hits record highs after earnings.
  • Plus, notable earnings to know this morning, and Cisco stock downgraded.

Futures Chart October 162024

5 Things You Need to Know Today

  1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.9 million call contracts and 1 million put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.
  2. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock is 4% higher before the bell, after the banking giant reported third-quarter earnings of $1.88 per share on revenue of $3.2 billion, both of which beat analysts' estimates. Year over year, MS is already up 42.5%.
  3. United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) stock is up 1.5% ahead of the open, after the airliner's third-quarter earnings and revenue both topped Wall Street's expectations. UAL is looking to add to a 55.2% year-to-date lead.
  4. Citi upgraded shares of networking company Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) to "buy" from "neutral" this morning, while also lifting its price target to $62 from $52. The analyst in coverage is bullish on Cisco's ethernet artificial intelligence (AI). CSCO is on track to add to its modest 7% year-to-date lead, up 1.9% premarket.
  5. Take a look at what to expect this week.

buzzoct16

U.K. Inflation Rate Stages Dramatic Drop

Asian markets were mostly lower today, with Japan’s Nikkei pacing the region with a 1.8% pullback. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished 0.2% lower, despite outsized moves from real estate stocks. China’s Shanghai Composite managed a 0.05% gain ahead of the housing minister’s press briefing tomorrow. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.9%, as the unemployment rate of 2.5% exceeded expectations for September.

European bourses are more of a mixed bag, with semiconductor stocks among the notable laggards. London’s FTSE 100 is 0.8% higher at last check, after September’s inflation rate fell to 1.7%, a dramatic drop from the 2.2% figure in August, and additional fuel to the rate-cut fire for the Bank of England in November. Rounding out the region, the French CAC 40 is 0.6% lower, while the German DAX is off by 0.2%, the latter weighed down by dismal third-quarter sales from luxury giant LVMH.

 

AI has exploded ever since ChatGPT set the world on fire near the end of 2022.

Numerous companies with connections to artificial intelligence have seen their stocks soar.

That includes Nvidia, the poster boy of AI.

Its stock has skyrocketed 716% since ChatGPT’s debut. But here’s the thing …

While everyone’s still counting their money from this first AI boom … Nvidia and countless others have moved on to the next stage.

That includes Big Tech, which is currently making a series of peculiar investments in a few strange companies. This has nothing to do with tech. At least on the surface …

Yet, these strange investments could be the early ripples of a massive wave …Without them, ChatGPT could stop operating … Amazon, Google, Microsoft and more could see profits drop drastically.

In fact, Elon Musk says these investments are critical when it comes to solving the number one problem facing AI.

Now, Silicon Valley legend Michael Robinson has identified two companies that could play a significant role in the solution.

Their stocks just may be the key to AI 2.0.

Find out more about these two companies today.
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